Report: Sony is Working on ‘Q-Lite’ PlayStation Handheld

Sony is reportedly working on a PlayStation handled codenamed “Q Lite,” according to information from Insider Gaming. The handheld gaming device is said to support game streaming from a PlayStation 5 console, meaning that local gameplay or cloud gaming aren’t supported scenarios.

Sony already supports game streaming from a PlayStation 5 console, and so do Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. PlayStation Remote Play is currently available for free on phones, tablets, PCs, as well as other PS5 or PS4 consoles, and Sony says it requires an Internet connection of at least 5Mbps to work.

According to the report, Sony’s ‘Q Lite’ gaming handheld will look like a PlayStation 5 controller with an 8-inch LCD touch screen in the center. “The device sports adaptive triggers for haptic feedback and will include what you would come to expect from a handheld – Volume buttons, speakers, an audio input jack, etc,” the report reads.

Insider Gaming reports that Q Lite is currently in its QA phase, and it supports streaming games from a PS5 at up to 1080p and 60FPS. It may be released before the end of 2024 before Sony releases a potential mid-gen upgrade for the PlayStation 5.

Sony previously released some pretty successful handheld gaming consoles with the PSP and the PlayStation Vita, and products like the Nintendo Switch or the Steam Deck have shown that this is still a pretty big market. However, Sony possibly releasing a gaming handheld that can’t be used without a PlayStation 5 console would make it quite limited.

Even though Sony has its own cloud gaming service as part of its PlayStation Plus service, it doesn’t really operate at the same scale as competing services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming or Nvidia’s GeForce Now. Do you think a gaming handheld that only supports remote play from a PlayStation 5 console can be successful? Sound off in the comments below.